Kajeet Cell Phone for KidsSearch This Site: Would a Kajeet cell phone help your child to stay in touch with you, learn how to manage their money while having more fun? It could. And what about you? Would you like to be able to check where your children are without having to call them up all the time? Would you like an easy way to manage your child’s cell phone usage? With Kajeet, you can.
If you decide to go ahead then you’ve got a neat option available. The cell phone service is designed to be easy to use and manage for parents as well as their children. It’s advertised not only as a cell phone, but also as a way of teaching your children to manage money. We'll go over these cell phones for kids but let's pause just a second and check whether they provide . . . Good Coverage with Sprint NetworkThe service uses Sprint's network, so coverage is pretty good. In particular, the map shows good coverage in population centers and along highways (which are also population centers.) You need to check first, of course.With that out of the way, let's move on to how you manage how your kids use the phone. The scenario is that you give them an allowance in what's called a "Kajeet wallet” of, let’s say, $20, and they can use that either for making calls or downloading ringtones or games. Your children then have to learn to balance those different desires within their allowance. As a parent you decide to fund their wallet. You can exempt certain calls (such as calls to you) from their wallet. These calls then get charged to you. Safety and Parental ControlsBasic SafetyHere’s some basic safety information about Kajeet. They, of course, comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). In addition, your child
The above safety features all work automatically. In addition there are parental controls to customize the phone for your child. Parental ControlsKajeet's parental controls include
All these features are free. There is one additional safety feature GPS LocatorAll Kajeet phones are GPS-capable. This allows you to locate your child's phone wherever it, and presumably, your child is. You can either check their location via a web site or set up the phone to send you alerts at particular times so you know whether she's where she's supposed to be. For example, if she's supposed to be at soccer practice by 4pm, you can have the phone send you an alert every weekday at 4pm to check if she's there.The GPS Locator service usually costs $7.99 per month or 99 cents per locate. It's also included free on the $24.99 and up plans. Now that you know it's safe, you can check out the . . . Rates on No-Contract PlansKajeet's prepaid no-contract plans range from as little as $4.99 a month for basic service to affordable unlimited messaging plans and a full unlimited plan.Basic Plan - $4.99 per monthThis plan keeps the phone active for the month without daily access charges and adds 10 voice minutes to your balance. Additional minutes as well as text messages cost 10 cents each. You can use this as a base and add money to your child's or your Kajeet wallet for extra calling time if you need it.Talk and Text PlansIf your child needs more voice minutes rather than text messages, then you can choose the $19.99 Talk and Text plan and get 500 voice minutes and 100 texts per month. For $29.99 per month you get 1000 minutes and 100 texts.Messaging PlansUnlimited Texting Plan - $14.99 per monthThis plan offers 60 voice minutes, but it's special because it includes unlimited texting. This, of course, is going to be very popular. However, if you child is texting too much, remember that you can set limits via the parental controls.Unlimited Messaging Plan - $19.99 per monthThis plan offers 150 voice minutes along with unlimited text and picture messaging.Unlimited Messaging and GPS - $24.99 per monthFor $24.99 you get 300 voice minutes, unlimited text and picture messaging and unlimited use of the GPS locator service. This plan should be good enough for most kids.Unlimited Plan - $50 per monthFor $50 a month you also get unlimited voice minutes in addition to the unlimited messaging and GPS.Kajeet Plan Add-OnsSome things like web data is not included with the Kajeet plans above.Mobile Web Add-OnsThe data rates are okay, but not great. The cost ranges from $4.99 a month for 50 MB to $24.99 a month for 1 GB. You'll only really need the higher amounts if you get one of the new Kajeet Android phones.Text Add-onsIf you choose the basic or talk and text plans, you can add buckets of text messages so that you don't pay the higher per text charge. For example, 4.99 gets you 200 texts and 9.99 per month gets you 1000 texts. However, if you need more than 200 texts, it's cheaper to get the unlimited texting plan.No Activation FeesOne great thing about Kajeet is that there are no activation fees, which is unusual in a full-featured provider. And since they are prepaid or no-contract plans, there are no termination fees either.Suspending Your AccountYou can also suspend your account for a limited amount of time such as when you go on vacation. This is at their discretion, so you can probably only do this a couple of times a year.Now we can get to the phones. There will probably be strong opinions about which handset to get in your family! And it's likely that your child may know more about these phones than what I can cover, so this is just a quick overview. PhonesYou have the choice of a good-looking assortment of phones. Many of them have cameras and music players. You have to make sure they will be used wisely.Kajeet Android Phones Now AvailableKajeet has come out with a whole line of cool Android phones for kids. These phones come with a Smart Blocker technology that apparently restricts usage to approved sites and apps.You can choose from the Samsung Replenish ("Green" phone) and the Samsung Conquer, the LG Optimus S, the Kyocera Milano and the HTC EVO Shift. These Android phones do cost more than their other handsets, so make sure to use this link to Save 15% on your purchase. There are also rotating sales on these phones, so you can check back to see if they have the one you want on sale. Touchscreen and QWERTY PhonesThere is still a good selection of QWERTY phones and even a touchscreen phone that's not an Android phone. These phones are go well with the unlimited texting and messaging plans. Phones available include the LG Rumor 2 and LG Rumor Touch, the Samsung Seek, and Sanyo 2700.Basic and Flip PhonesBasic Phonethe LG 102 is their entry-level phone. Even though its features are basic, it is still compatible with the GPS phone locator service.Flip PhonesThe Samsung M300 is a basic flip phone with VGA camera. It comes in red and silver, though they're not always in stock. Other flip phones available include the Sanyo Katana and Katana II.Games and RingtonesYou can download as assortment of games and ringtones. They tell you how much it’s going to cost before you download it. Any download game or ringtone can be stored at their end in what’s called “The Vault”. So if your child is running out of storage on the phone, they can move some games or ringtones to “The Vault” and download them later without charge. As mentioned above, all ringtones are "content approved".DudeworldDudeworld is an attempt to market these downloads, ringtones, etc. to the kids. The "Dudes" are a set of half-baby blob-like cartoon characters. Each character has their favorites activities, food and ringtones. For example, one character's favorite "wallpaper" for his phone matches his skateboard.This appeal to being cool by downloading the right ringtones, wallpapers etc., is not really in line with the rest of Kajeet's message about teaching children how to manage their phones and money responsibly. However, Dudeworld isn't prominently featured on their website anymore, though the cute little munchkins that are on the site are, in fact, "Dudes". Google MapsGoogle Maps is one useful standard "app" available for your Kajeet phone.For compatible Kajeet phones, you can use Google Maps to find out where you need to go and how to get there. Save 15%The phones are available online at Amazon or Kajeet. You can Save 15% by ordering directly from Kajeet here.Recycling your old phonesOkay, so you've decided to switch your whole family over to Kajeet!They have set up a website for recycling your old cell phone. You enter your information at: Kajeet Recycles and print out a mailing label as well as an IRS form documenting your donation. You get a confirmation email as well. SummaryAll in all, Kajeet seems to be a pretty well thought-out service and worth considering for your 8-12 year-old children.
Kajeet Consumer ReviewsShare your Kajeet experience! What Other Visitors Have SaidClick below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
I want a Kajeet phone and I want one now!
We Love Kajeet family plans
Very happy with my 11 year olds Kajeet phone
My 11 year old daughter loves this Kajeet phone, but I hate the access charges!
Kajeet - Some Good - Some Bad
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Happy 12 year old with Kajeet
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